Born in Waikato, Mitchell moved to Perth when his family shifted there so John Mitchell could carry on coaching in the Super Rugby circuit.
Consequently it doesn't come as a surprise that the younger Mitchell grew up in awe of watching retired Australian captain Ricky Ponting and fellow batsman Justin Langer eking out victories on Boxing Day.
Nevertheless, there's no mistaking where Mitchell's loyalty lies as he plies his trade in the New Zealand domestic arena to be reportedly his own man, rather than walking in the shadow of his well-known father.
"From the time I was a kid I always dreamt of playing for New Zealand," said the right-hand batsman who helped spearhead the Knights to their maiden victory in the HRV Cup Twenty20 title last weekend.
Mitchell scored an unbeaten 46 runs in their five-wicket victory over defending T20 champions Otago Volts to book a flight to the lucrative world championship this year.
It took a match-defining 57-run stand between Mitchell and test batsman/wicketkeeper BJ Watling to steady the champions' innings as they sat at 24-3 in just four overs.
"It's exciting times for the boys who put in all the hard work during the Twenty20 campaign stretching back to November," he said, adding the Knights were looking forward to their winter excursion at the world champs.
"It was something we talked about at the start of the season," said Mitchell of ND, who have lately made a habit of etching their names on the Plunket Shield.
"It's a special moment for the boys because it's something they'll talk about when they are old and grey."
He didn't think ND would struggle to make the transition from the white ball to a red one.
While the Heinrich Malan-coached Stags are in the hunt for their first victory in any format this summer after finishing last in the HRV Cup two years in a row, Mitchell said they were mindful CD were due for a victory and the James Pamment-coached Knights wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that after four days of shield play.
"We're taking each game as it comes, to use an old cliche."
A medium pace bowler, he felt the McLean Park wicket that played like a driveway in the opening Black Caps versus India ODI last Sunday would offer something to batsmen and bowlers.
"It's a four-dayer so on days two and three we should cash in ..." he said, adding the track was similar to their last round at Eden Park, Auckland, so they were "quite used to batting on roads".
They were missing their ODI players but had the depth to step up.
"Kane [Williamson] and Timmy [Southee] are top players who make a difference but it's a good time for the younger guys to put their hand up," he said, adding the likes of Watling and Ish Sodhi were also preparing for the two tests against India.
Doug Bracewell, Bevan Small and Greg Hay, coming in for released English import Peter Trego, are the new faces for Central Districts since their drawn affair against the Volts in Dunedin in the last round before Christmas.
Hay, 25, of Nelson, said they were looking at the shield match today as a fresh start in a bid to win some matches.
"You can't do anything when you're not playing [T20s] so it's good be back in there to contribute with the boys," he said.
Having played T20s then gone into a four-year recess of non-selection, Hay wouldn't mind playing in every format at the top level but felt his strength was in four-dayers.
His weight of runs and enjoyment factor has got him back into the equation.
"It's a little harder to get back inside once you're out but you just keep working at it and take your opportunities when they come."
He said the wicket looked "a helluva lot greener" than the ODI one. "It'll be refreshing for the seamers who get it pretty tough most times on flat wickets so it'll be interesting to see how much it does earlier on."
